Gracey's Space

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Is anyone out there like me when it comes to keeping way too much stuff? I feel for my mother when I was a child because I had crap all over the place in my room but it was always hidden either stuffed under the bed or stuffed in the closet and drawers. It looked organized when you would walk in but once you looked under the bed or in the closet, good luck in getting the door to shut. I remember there would be times that I would come home from school to find mountains and mountains of clothes, papers, toys, etc in the middle of my room. My mom had raided my room earlier that day....she was probably looking for something and then discovered my pack rat issues. This went on until I moved out of the house, and then I was forced to live with three other girls in a dorm room, so I learned to compromise and throw away or give away most of my crap when I knew I was done using or wearing it.

Now that we move so much, I'm always amazed at what I have accumulated in the past six months or year when we are packing up. When we moved from our house in Texas, we had given away so much stuff to charity that I thought there was nothing else to give away. I was wrong. We moved into a much smaller place here in South Carolina that I ended up giving away five boxes of perfectly good things, but it was stuff that I didn't really NEED. Now that we are due to move in less than two months, I'm wondering how much stuff we'll be chucking again. The thing I really worry about is when we move back to Texas we are supposed to actually be staying there for three years--SCARY, I can't even fathom all the things I'll be collecting for that long period of time! :)

posted by Gracey at Tuesday, March 06, 2007 -

7 Comments:

At 3/06/2007 7:07 AM, Jay said…

I've always lived in apartments and most of them not so big. So, I keep stuff, like magazines and books until things get to cluttered and I can't stand it anymore.

Then I start chucking stuff. I hold up a bunch of magazinges and wonder why I kept them in the frist place. LOL

I've also moved a lot. And everytime I've moved I've tossed a bunch of stuff away. Some of it I wish hadn't now, but oh well.
At 3/06/2007 10:52 AM, MoJoKat said…

Wow, I remember similar instances from when I was a kid. Luckily I have lost *Some* of the clutterbug, but alas, not all. I know my hunny would appreciate it, if I learned to lose it all! I am much neater now, too. I shudder when I remember my "hidey-holes" in my room! Our poor Mom's...they sure put up with a lot from their children!!! =-) God Bless them!!!!
At 3/06/2007 1:29 PM, turquoise cro said…

Yes! I am a pack rat!!! I was just talking to Angela Marie about this very subject! I told her they should have a Pack Rat Anoymous meeting somewhere! It would be full! LOL Email me sweets at Bluebirddreamer@aol.com! I would love that wedding pasta receipe!!!
At 3/06/2007 4:45 PM, Anonymous said…

Um...yeah that would be me. I have this major tendency to squirel things away. So do my kids...so did my grandma. So...really it's not my fault,right?
At 3/06/2007 7:57 PM, carmilevy said…

Hi Gracey. I followed your link home from Susan's blog. Hope that's OK. I'm glad I did: you write so well that it's hard to not read entry after entry.

You raise an interesting point about stuff. I've written about stuff in the past, and it's always struck me as interesting how the stuff that really matters is the stuff we can't buy.

Looks like you've clearly figured this out as you prepare for your next move. I look forward to my next visit.

All the best,

Carmi
At 3/07/2007 12:21 AM, Gracey said…

Jay: I subscribe to quite a few magazines too and I know what you mean about those getting cluttered. I tell myself, "I'm going to read that one again." Ya Right! :)

Chelle: I'm happy that you at least saved one letter from me. Someday when I'm rich and famous you may wish that you had saved all those letters and notes from me! :)

Kat: Yep, our poor mothers! But I've learned to unclutter myself to a certain point as well. You just have to when you're always moving someplace new.

Turquoise: I hope your husband likes the recipe. He can pick out the spinach if he doesn't like that!

Susan: I swear it passes down from generation to generation. My mom told me that when she read my blog she laughed because she was exactly how I was when she was a kid.

Carmi: Welcome, Welcome! All new visitors are always welcome here as long as they don't say anything rude. :) But you seem to be very nice so you can stay! I hope to "see" you again.
At 3/07/2007 8:19 AM, Angela Marie said…

This is too funny.... I just posted on this very subject! Is this the "Spring Cleaning Fever?"

Good luck to you my fellow pack rat!

hugs :)